Nearly a hundred years ago, in the early 1930’s, Floyd native, Major Lee Sweeney, was a blacksmith by trade. But the world was changing. Though the motor vehicle had been invented nearly fifty years earlier, the 1920’s and 1930’s was the era in which cars were just starting to become mainstream. Where other pre-industrial tradesmen may have faded into the shadows cast by progress, Mr. Sweeney saw an opportunity. Instead of letting the times pass him by, he decided to grab advancement by the coattails with an entrepreneurial spirit so strong that it’s lasted for generations!
With great foresight, Major Lee Sweeney opened a garage in Floyd County, and has gone down in history as the man who worked on the very first car to have ever broken down on the road between Roanoke and Floyd! In addition to taking part in automotive history, Mr. Sweeney also found himself taking part in another cultural phenomenon of the era. The 1930’s and 1940’s were famous for moonshine and bootlegging in Appalachia! Bootleggers needed fast and agile vehicles to escape the law, and Major Lee Sweeney worked with several of these romanticized bootleggers to make their cars capable of staying ahead of the hot pursuit.
So specialized were these modified vehicles that moonshiners began racing their cars on local tracks in the 1950’s. One of those moonshine-racing drivers was none other than the famous Curtis Turner! Turner was born in Floyd and did moonshine deliveries before he was old enough to even have a license. In 1946, when he was older, he started racing on a track in Mounty Airy, North Carolina. In his career, Curtis won seventeen NASCAR Grand National Division races and thirty-eight NASCAR Convertible Division races. Even more notable, Curtis was also one of the founding members in the original group that met in Daytona Beach to discuss and support the formation of NASCAR. But before all that he outran the law in a fast car that was suped-up by Major Lee Sweeney.
The garage, however, was not the only industry for Sweeney. Like many families in Floyd, Sweeney and his family owned and operated a farm. Seven sons were born into the family, all of whom worked the farm and spent hours in the garage, learning about cars and falling in love with them. When they were old enough, all but one joined the military. Bruce Sweney had badly broken his arm when he was young, so armed service was not in his future. Instead, Bruce stayed home, continuing work on the farm, and learning about cars. At the age of nineteen, Bruce married fourteen-year-old Beulah Akers.
It was the late 1950’s, and within a couple years of marriage, Bruce was ready to follow in his father’s footsteps and open a car-related business. It was a car dealership, instead of a garage, and it opened in 1958. Though it changed name and location a few times, this was the business that would eventually become known as Autoville! With an ever-changing inventory of quality used cars, trucks, and SUV’s, Autoville is still serving Floyd County and surrounding areas after sixty-five years!
Bruce, however, was not the sort to just be satisfied with one pursuit in life. He is a Sweeney, after all! With a love of classic cars and racing in his blood, Bruce, along with his brother, Barry, owned Sweeney Motor Sports. It was more of a hobby than a business, but the brothers spent many hours there, working on racing cars. Barry’s son, Jamie Sweeney, however, took the racing bug a bit further. Jamie owns and drives a racing car. He races late model stock at MotorMile Speedway in Radford.
Back at Autoville, however, it was really becoming a family business! From the beginning, Beulah had worked alongside Bruce. Beulah’s brother, Grover, also worked at Autoville for many years before retiring just a couple years ago. Today, Bruce and Beulah’s son-in-law, Chris Harmon, manages the business.
In 1994, Bruce decided to open a new business in the same 610 East Main Street location that was home to his Autoville showroom. Floyd Jewelry was the newest venture in Bruce’s portfolio, and it wouldn’t be long until the next generation caught that Sweeney entrepreneurial spirit!
Bruce’s daughter, Sarah – now Sarah Sowers – was still in high school when her dad opened the jewelry store. With her eye on a career in the medical field, Sarah got her CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) while still in school and went to work at Skyline Manor Nursing Home in Floyd. After high school, Sarah studied Business Management at New River Community College.
The direction of her life, however, would take a huge turn just one year after graduating high school. In 1996, not even twenty-years old, Sarah took over operations of Floyd Jewelry. Considering that Sarah was practically raised at Autoville and spent almost every weekend at the racetrack, perhaps it was her life course all along that she would become part of the ongoing family legacy of business ownership at 610 East Main Street.
Even today, Floyd Jewelry specializes in diamond jewelry, as well as unparalleled customer satisfaction. Shoppers can find bridal rings, silver, and custom jewelry, and enjoy services like repairs and appraisals. They even buy gold!
Sarah already had a good business education from her upbringing, as well as the business management course she took at college. But jewelry was new to her. Sparkling gems and the quiet sophistication of a fine jewelry store were all a far cry from the grease, grit, and noise of the racetrack! But she learned quickly. She did a great deal of online study into gemology and learned a great deal from the owners and staff of T and P Jewelers in Roanoke.
Almost thirty years later, Sarah continues to run Floyd Jewelry in the same building as Autoville, which is convenient, as she also continues to work as a Dealer Operator at Autoville! When asked to reflect on what it would have been like to pursue her medical career instead, Sarah tells us that, all in all, she finds the freedom and flexibility of hours more appealing.
Though Autoville and Floyd Jewelry are family run businesses, you don’t have to be family to be part of the “family”. Melanie Chambers has been a familiar face at the jewelry store for the past ten years. The Sweeney family first met Melanie when she and her husband, John, moved to Floyd and John became pastor at New Haven Baptist Church.
Melanie started working at Floyd Jewelry a year or two after that and has been a blessing ever since. In addition to the wealth of knowledge and experience she has in the jewelry industry, Melanie is also great with customers, providing a smiling face and great service to all who enter.
Another familiar face at both the jewelry store and Autoville is Thor, shop kitty extraordinaire. Thor has been prowling and lounging about the shops for about a year, after having been adopted by Sarah from Floyd Humane Society. Sarah tells us that just fell in love with Thor, and knew she had to take him after he’d been waiting so long for adoption.
Sarah began volunteering at the Humane Society seven years ago and has spent the last four years as Vice President. In her time as Vice President, with the help of the community and many volunteers, the Floyd Humane Society has been focused on getting their own facility. Until very recently, the Society has been a group of individuals, operating the organization from their individual homes. Thanks to an estate gift, however, the Society has now obtained a property! Work is currently in progress to turn the location into a center of operations and animal shelter.
In 2023, at the age of eighty-seven, Bruce Sweeney still shows up to work at Autoville every day! Sadly, Beulah is no longer by his side, having passed away in January. With Chris at the helm of the dealership and Sarah right next door, however, family is always close.
And as of August, this year, the Sweeney family legacy has touched the next generation! Making a little more room at 610 East Main Street, Sarah’s son, Camron Sowers, opened his first business! Like his mom, Camron has spent time as part of Autoville, doing accounting and bookkeeping. He even got his car sales license. He also did accounting for other businesses owned by other members of the Sweeney family.
Camron has always been interested in business. It’s in his blood. In high school, he was even part of the FBLA – Future Business Leaders of America. After high school, like Sarah, Camron attended New River Community College, furthering his general studies. At the age of twenty-three, Cameron decided to step squarely into the footsteps of his mother, grandfather, and great-grandfather by owning a business in Floyd.
Though he has the same love of antique cars as his mom and grandad, Cameron has an even greater love for all things western and western history. When considering what kind of store to open, Camron thought about what Floyd needed. In the end, his interests and that need came together. Owned jointly with Sarah, Jacksonville Trading Company was opened with the aim of offering western fashion and western themed items such as reproduction black powder firearms.
Opened in August of 2023, the new store brings together echoes of the western past with the practical needs of a 21st century, rural community. Visitors can shop for items like jeans, shoes, boots, and other everyday needs. Camron really wants the feel of a classic general store. To further the theme, the décor of the shop features old western movie posters, with a television constantly playing old western movies.
Looking to the future, Camron wants to add items that are locally crafted, such as knives or jewelry with western look. For now, however, the goal is to get the business up and going solid. From that point, the public will have a significant impact on the future. With the philosophy of “give the people what they want” firmly in hand, Camron wants to get a feel from the community about what they’d like, what kinds of items they would like to see at the store, and what brands they will want to have.
As for Sarah, she couldn’t be prouder. “Seeing your child wanting to follow the family tradition of owning a business in Floyd and staying in the Floyd community. It was a tough decision for him to make, in the uncertain economy of post-Covid. I know it made his grandfather really proud for him to carry on the family tradition.”
It’s been almost a hundred years since Major Sweeney set all these success stories in motion. He not only took part in some very notable history but had his finger on the pulse of the future, as well. Bruce, Sarah, and now Camron, as well as the whole Sweeney family, have helped to grow Floyd County by opening businesses, creating jobs, giving back to the community, and being part of its landscape. Collectively, they have witnessed a changing world that has gone from pre-industrial, provincial living to the modern digital age. May that community-building, entrepreneurial spirit continue for generations to come.
Autoville • Warren Bruce Sweeney • 540-745-4736
Floyd Jewlery • Sarah Sweeney Sowers • 540-745-4653
Jacksonville Trading Company • Camron Warren Sowers
610 East Main Street, Floyd, VA